Regular but mild contractions

[JBCG]

I think I had a bit of a 'clear out' (sorry TMI) at about 1030pm immediately followed by a contraction that was felt primarily in my lower back before moving round to the front of my pelvis.

I started timing these contractions at 11pm and they've progressed from 7/8 minutes apart to 4/5 minutes apart.

At about 1am they started becoming stronger so I took some paracetamol, but now I don't know if the paracetamol has worked really well or whether they are dying down but they are feeling quite mild now. Noticeable, but I would definitely rate more as uncomfortable compared to painful.

I'm 39+5 today. I was induced on the drip with DC1 so haven't gone into labour naturally before so it's all a bit new to me. I've been having Braxton Hicks since about 34 weeks and this feels very different (mainly because I'm feeling them in my back first).

Do I need to call up now? Or shall I wait til they are definitely painful first? I'm confused by the 5 minutes apart aspect of it!

Give the midwives a call, they much rather you call than sitting at home worried about what to do when. They will either ask you to go in or explain really clearly what to look out for as reassurance if not at a point you need to go in :)

Hope it goes smoothly :)

I’m sat here in labour too, mine are v much a 9/10 pain wise and coming every 2.5 min. This is my third and my other 2 I had similar for 7 plus hours before I even got to 4cm. If you aren’t sure ring up, they will probably say go in if they are a few min apart and lasting longer than a minute.

I’m going to give it a few more hours before I contemplate going to hospital, I’ve left my husband asleep in bed and have been sat downstairs since midnight , he can’t moan he’s tired tomorrow that way!

Thank you both. I went in at around 4am and was barely effaced so they said to come back if they got closer to 3 minutes apart.

I just went back in as although the strength hadn't necessarily increased, they were between 2/3 minutes apart. I'm just 1cm dilated apparently so have been sent home again.

They said I could carry on like this for days or it could happen within hours .. just have to wait and see. They advised that I should ignore the frequency of them and just go off how strong they become as I'm having regular ineffectual contractions at the moment 🤦🏻‍♀️

Im absolutely exhausted but hopefully can get some sleep before they ramp up.

I'm 39 weeks and 3 days, and still nothing, nada, zilch!! sighs hope things speed up for you, and me!! Sometimes, I'm scared of the pain ahead and sort crumble under all this fear. Other times, I'm like a warrior, thinking, bring it on, let's just get it done! Being a woman is hard! I guess tonight I'm not feeling like a warrior...

I was like that for about 3 days. Sleep, eat, repeat!!!